St. John Chrysostom Parish volunteers who may have any possible contact with, or responsibility for, children must fulfill all of the Safe Environment requirements below. Volunteers who fail to secure any required clearance or training will not be permitted to serve our children.

Please direct questions to Bill Carr at (610) 874-3418 x 108 or bcarr@sjcparish.org.

Requirements for Volunteers

1. BACKGROUND CHECKS

Volunteers must undergo state and federal background checks every five years. The state clearances are free for volunteers.

• PA State Police Criminal Record Check. To begin your check, click "New Record Check" (highlighted in yellow) with “volunteers only” in red to the right. This will waive your fee.

 

• PA Department of Human Services Child Abuse Clearance. Begin by clicking "Create Individual Account." Identify yourself as a volunteer when beginning your application. The fee will then be waived.
   
• A Federal Criminal Background Check, including FBI fingerprinting, is required for any volunteer who has lived in Pennsylvania less than 10 consecutive years. Ten-year Pennsylvania residents do not need the FBI check, but must complete a Disclosure Statement Application.

     Federal Criminal Background Checks and fingerprinting are offered at several locations. An appointment is required. The fee is $22.60.

          Make an appointment.  To register for your appointment, enter Service Code 1KG6ZJ for Volunteers. Then click Schedule or Manage Appointment, and complete the information. Note: If your fingerprint results are deemed unreadable, you will need to go for a second set. If they are still unreadable, a name search will be conducted and a letter issued to you.

2. TRAINING

Volunteers also must complete and document several trainings, most of them online. Required are:
 

• Certified completion of a "Protecting God’s Children" Awareness Session (find a class here) and the signature page acknowledging receipt, review and observance of the Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries.

 

• Technology Addendum Training: This is required only of volunteers who completed "Protecting God's Children" training before July 1, 2011. The addendum has since been included in that training. Click here to learn more.

 

• Mandated Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse Training: This online training from the Archdiocesan Office for Child and Youth Protection is mandatory.

 

• Mandated Reporter Acknowledgement Form: This is required only of volunteers who completed Mandated Reporting Training before Dec. 1, 2014. Those volunteers must review the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's updated mandated reporting policies effective November 2014 as outlined in the Mandated Reporting brochure.